In Lieu of 1000 Words: 2012 Prairie Village Jazz Fest, Part 2

A photographer craves the perfect light, the setting sun hitting the stage at a unique angle to illuminate the musicians perfectly, a fifteen minute period when you can capture a once in a lifetime shot.

At the 2012 Prairie Village Jazz Festival on September 8, the perfect light hit during the stage change between Megan Birdsall’s set and Bobby Watson’s set. Next year’s festival really needs to time that better.

The sun had settled behind the hill at Harmon Park when Bobby Watson took the stage. Backed by bassist Curtis Lundy, in from New York, Richard Johnson from Minneapolis on piano and Kansas City’s Michael Warren on drums, Bobby’s alto captured the crowd. Co-headiner Karrin Allyson followed with a wonderful set, accompanied by Los Angeles sax and woodwind master Bob Sheppard, and a trio of current and former Kansas Citians, jazz masters all: Rod Fleeman on guitar, Gerald Spaits on bass and Todd Strait on drums.

I offered photos of Gerald and Todd last week, from Mike Metheny’s set. Now here’s photos of the rest of the festival headliners. As always, clicking on a shot should open a larger version of it.

Bobby Watson on alto sax

Bassist Curtis Lundy

Pianist Richard Johnson

Drummer Michael Warren

Curtis and Bobby

At night, the audience filled the hill.

 

Karrin Allyson on piano and vocals

Bob Sheppard on sax

Karrin Allyson Quintet. Left to right: Rod Fleeman, Bob Sheppard, Karrin Allyson, Gerald Spaits, Todd Strait

Guitarist Rod Fleeman

Bob Sheppard on flute

For her final number, Karrin invited bassist Bob Bowman, who has performed with her often, and Bobby Watson to join her group on stage. Left to right: Karrin Allyson, Bob Bowman, Bobby Watson, Bob Sheppard, Rod Fleeman.